NIGERIA - Total's Operations.

Elf, now part of Total, has seen its production capacity to fall to 152,000 b/d, from 180,000 b/d in the first half of 2001 and over 200,000 b/d in 1998. This is despite the coming on stream of the Amanam-Kpono production system in July 2003 at the rate of 70,000 b/d. Amenam-Kpono will plateau at 125,000 b/d in mid-2004. But only 82,000 b/d of the production stream is involved in the 60-40 JV between NNPC and Total, while Amenam-Kpono is operated under a PSC. Total should expand its sustainable capacity for the JV to more than 400,000 b/d before 2010, with Amenam-Kpono excluded.

Obagi was Elf's first discovery in Nigeria in 1964. For many years it was its main field producing 60,000 b/d of the Bonny Medium type. But Obagi began to deplete in the early 1990s. Now Total's fields lie onshore and offshore. Some old depleting fields have been replaced by offshore fields: Afia, on stream in March 1995; Odudu, on stream in June 1995; Ime, on stream in October 1995; Edikan, on stream in January 1996; and Ofon, a major field found in August 1995 in shallow waters near the company's Odudu offshore terminal and on stream in December 1997 with a capacity of 60,000 b/d which would eventually rise to 100,000 b/d.

Total's crudes are blended into an Odudu grade similar to Bonny Light - the latter being produced by a Shell-led JV in which Total has 10% (see OMT). Total exports from the Odudu terminal, close to Mobil's Qua Iboe and Oso. Obite, a major gas field, has been developed at the cost of $500m and feeds the Shell-led Bonny LNG complex. Total holds 15% in the LNG venture.

Amenam/Kpono combines two connected offshore fields. Amenam is in Total's PSC Block OML 99 in the south-eastern part of the Niger Delta 35 km off the coast. Kpono is in Mobil's adjacent Block OML 70. After a two-year dispute, in March 1998 Elf won the contest as the Nigerian regulators gave the French company the right to be the operator of Amenam/Kpono with a 31.2% stake. Now NNPC holds 60% in this and Exxon- Mobil only has 8.8%.

Development of Amenam/Kpono has cost $1 bn. Its oil reserves have been estimated at 800m barrels, with more than 400m barrels recoverable. Its FPSO vessels serves several of Total's other fields and is linked to the Odudu centre through a 30 km, 16-inch marine pipeline.

In January 1999 Elf sold to Canadian Occidental Petroleum (CanOxy and now known as Nexen) a 20% stake in five Nigerian block, two deep-water blocks: OPLs 222 and 223, and three onshore tracts. ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil are Total's other partners in these with each holding 30%. In OPL 222 Elf had in 1999 found Ukot field under 1,800 feet of water. Total made a second discovery in OPL 222, Usan, which in May 2002 tested 5,000 b/d in 2,450 feet of water. The Ukot/Usan discoveries will be on stream within four years if further delineation and exploration prove successful.

OPL 246, said to be the most prospective deep-water block off West Africa, has a 1 bn barrel Akpo find which Total (24%) is developing to produce 225,000 b/d of light/sweet crude oil by 2007. Its partners in this are the local South Atlantic Petroleum (60%) and Petrobras (16%). Akpo also has 4 TCF of gas. Akpo is very near the boundary of the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) set up between Nigeria and Sao Tome, and it may extend into the JDZ.

Total operates in other West African countries on blocks acquired through the takeover of Elf, with oil production in Angola and Gabon bringing its total African output to 630,000 b/d in 2000 and over 1m b/d by 2010.

Agip Operations: In a JV owned 60%, 20% by Agip and 20% by ConocoPhillips, Agip produces 150,000 b/d for a number of fields and their main export blend is called Brass River (see background in Vol. 57, No. 6).

Agip in March 2003 brought on stream the offshore Abo field at a rate of 30,000 b/d which will plateau at 150,000 b/d in 2004. It is using a FPSO vessel. Agip holds 40% and its partners in this PSC are BP (35%) and ExxonMobil (25%).

Agip in late 2002 began oil production from the Okpoho field, 55 km off the Delta state, in OML 119. This has a proven reserve of 200m barrels. Agip has developed the field under a service contract with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC.

Texaco Operations: Texaco (now part of Chevron) operates several fields, mostly offshore, grouped in the name of its first discovery in 1965, Pennington, which is also the name of its terminal and of its export blend. Texaco's capacity is 70,000 b/d, down from 90,000 in 1999. Pennington blend is 38o API with 0.1% sulphur (see Vol. 57, No. 6).